Runes
Introduction The rune system is an additional way for players to power-up their heroes. Runes are special items obtainable from Heroic Map Act to Legendary Map Act 1 - 4 and the Capital’s Last Stand daily event quest. They are also sometimes available in the Special Event Bazaar or as drops from the event monsters. Like equipment, they can be worn by units to grant additional stats or skills. The rune equipment page can be accessed within each unit’s summary page, while all the runes in your possession can be found in the “Rune” tab within your inventory. Rune Slots Only units with 3★ rarity rating and above can equip runes. These units have up to 9 slots available for equipping runes. The higher the rarity of a hero, the more slots are open for equipping runes. A 3★ hero only has 4 slots open, a 4★ hero has 6 slots, while a 5★ hero has access to all 9 slots. Rune slots available for 5★ unit Rune slots available for 4★ unit Rune slots available for 3★ unit Runes come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They also come with a range of types and bonuses. Players are free to decide which combination of runes to fit into the available rune slots in order to maximize their hero’s potential. Rune Bonuses The bonus that each rune grants comprises of two components, its set bonus and base bonus. Each component is independent of each other, allowing for a large variety of runes suitable for a myriad of hero builds. Set Bonuses: Rune Type Runes come in five different colors, each corresponding to one of the five rune types, namely Fury, Defence, Health, Focus and Energy. In additional to their color, each rune’s type can also be identified by the first part of their name in their item description. Example of Fury and Guard Runes Rune type determines the set bonus that the runes grant when a sufficient number of runes of the same type is equipped on the same hero. The table below summarizes the colors, set bonuses and pieces required associated with each rune type. Take note that this set bonus is only dependent on the number of runes equipped, and not the total number of slots taken up. For example, four 2-slot runes Fury runes (8-slots) will grant the same 10% ATK set bonus as four 1-slot Fury runes (4-slots). Additionally, set bonuses of the same type are stackable, meaning that if a unit has 8 Fury runes equipped, it will receive a total of 20% ATK boost (10% + 10%). Base Bonuses: Stat Runes and Skill Runes Runes also grant additional base bonuses independent of their rune type. These base bonuses can stack with set bonuses. Base bonuses can be classified into 2 groups: stats and skill. As their names suggest, runes with stats bonuses grant the unit equipping it additional stats (such as attack, defence, magic, etc.) while runes with skill bonuses provide unique skills. Each rune can only have one base bonus type. The base bonus that a rune gives can be identified either by the symbol on the rune or by the second part of the rune’s name in the item description. Example of Fury Runes Granting Attack and Double Strike Bonuses Stats Bonuses There are five types of stats bonuses: attack, defence, health, critical and magic. Each has their own corresponding symbol, as shown below. Stats runes come in five rarities, 1★ to 5★. The higher the rarity of the rune, the higher the stat bonus. The table below summarizes the stats bonus for +15, 1-slot runes from 1★ to 5★. Runes with stat bonuses only come in three sizes, 1-slot, 2-slots and 3-slots, regardless of their type. 2- and 3-slot runes can come in any shape with two or three connected tiles respectively (diagonals not included). Possible Shapes for 2-slot Runes Some Possible Shapes for 3-slot Runes The size of a stat rune also determines how much stat bonus it gives. The bigger the rune, the higher the stat bonus. More specifically, a 2-slot rune gives twice the stat bonus that a 1-slot rune of the same rarity gives, while a 3-slot rune gives thrice the stat bonus that a 1-slot rune of the same rarity gives. For example, a +15, 5★ 2-slot stat rune with attack bonus gives 460 attack bonus (230 ★ 2 = 360), while a +15, 5★ 3-slot stat rune with attack bonus gives 690 attack bonus (230 ★ 3 = 690). Skill Bonuses The six possible skills obtainable from runes are: Miracle, Vampiric, Dodge, Double Strike, Resilience and Refresh. Once equipped, the hero will obtain these skills in all combat as a passive effect. When used right, these runes can prove to be extremely advantageous. The table below details the effect of each skill. Like stats runes, each skill rune can be identified its own unique symbol, as shown below: Skill runes only have 3 rarities, 3★ to 5★. Unlike stats runes, the rarity of skill runes do not affect the strength of the rune, meaning that a +15, 3★ skill rune will give the same effect as a +15, 5★ skill rune of the same type. The rarity of skills runes only affects the number of slots the runes take up, with 3★ runes all taking up 7 slots, 4★ runes 6 slots, and 5★ runes 5 slots. This means that higher rarity skill runes leave room for more runes, and hence more set bonuses. Like stats runes, skill runes can come in any shape as long as all tiles are connected. Some Possible Shapes for 5★ Skill Runes Equipping and Unequipping Runes To equip a rune, access the hero rune equip page by pressing “Edit” on the runes tab. Click on the rune to be equipped then drag it to the desired position. Meanwhile, runes can be removed simply by dragging them out of the hero rune grid. Runes can be moved around freely without cost until a desired formation is obtained, so feel free so try out different combinations. Remember to press “Embed” to save the new rune formation, or all changes will be lost. There is no cost for equipping runes. Runes can also be safely unequipped and transferred from hero to hero. To unequip runes, simply drag out the runes to be unequipped out of the hero rune grid. Remember to press “Embed” to save your changes. Unequipping runes costs some gold. A fee of 1000 gold is charged for each rune slot freed, so removing a 7-slot skill rune costs 7000 gold, while removing a 1-slot stat rune costs 1000 gold. Any upgrades performed on the runes that were unequipped will not be lost. Rune Fusion The process of upgrading runes is called rune fusion, since it requires the sacrifice of other runes in order to upgrade a target rune. The rune fusion menu can be accessed from the rune inventory page by clicking on the rune to be graded, then on the “Upgrade” button. Upgrading a rune from player inventory Alternatively, if the rune has already been equipped by a hero, the rune merge page can also be conveniently accessed from each hero’s rune upgrade page (refer to Runes Upgrading and Unequipping section on how to access this). Simply press the rune to be upgraded, and then press “Upgrade”. Upgrading a rune from hero page (left), Rune Fusion interface (right) There are 2 types of rune fusion, “Upgrade” and “Merge”. “Upgrade” is used to improve the base bonus your runes give, while “Merge” is used for promoting your runes to the next rarity grade. Rune Upgrading is applicable to all runes, while Rune Merging is only applicable to stat runes. Rune Upgrade Like equipment, runes can be upgraded up to +15. Upgrading improves the stats bonus for stats runes, and strengthens the passive skill granted for skill runes. Rune set bonuses are unaffected by rune upgrading. Upgrading a rune requires sacrificing other runes through rune fusion. Up to five sacrificial runes can be selected at a time. Each rune that is sacrificed grants the target rune being upgraded some exp, with sacrificial runes of higher quality granting more exp. Once the target rune’s exp reaches 100%, it will be upgraded to the next level. Runes that were sacrificed will be consumed and removed from the inventory. The amount of exp required for a rune to level up depends on its upgrade level and rarity. As the target rune’s upgrade level increases, the amount of exp required for it to level up also increases, meaning that more runes need to fused with it before it can level up. The rarity of the target rune also affects the exp required for an upgrade, with higher rarity runes requiring more exp. A gold fee is charged for each rune that is merged into the target rune. This gold fee is fixed across all target runes and sacrificial runes, regardless of their type. The only factor that affects the gold fee is the rarity of the rune being upgraded, with higher rarity target runes requiring a higher gold fee. The rarity of the sacrificed rune does not affect fusion cost. The table below summarizes the gold fee for merging each rune. Occasionally, a Mega Success may happen during upgrading. When this happens, the target rune gains 1.5 times exp during rune merge. Special events can increase the chance of Rune Merge Mega Success occurring. These rate up events usually accompany the Prismatic Shard Event. When there is a rune merge rate up in place, there will be a “Fusion Bonus Chance” rate up with a rune symbol on the top right in your game’s home page. Mega Success can help save a lot of sacrificial runes and gold, so be sure not to misses these rate up events! Prismatic Shards and Rune Merge The other function of Rune Fusion is Rune Merge, which upgrades the target rune by one rarity level. Currently, only runes of 1★ to 4★ can be upgraded, since 5★ is the highest possible rarity level for runes. Rune Merge is also only applicable to stat runes. A rune merge is performed by fusing two +15 stat runes of the same rarity, stat type (i.e. same symbol), rune set type (i.e. same color), rune size and rune shape using a Prismatic Shard to obtain a rune of rarity grade higher. The stat type, rune set type, rune shape and size of the resulting rune will be identical to the component runes. The Prismatic Shard must also be of the same rarity as the component runes being upgraded, e.g. merging 3★ runes to make a 4★ rune will require a 3★ Prismatic Shard. A gold fee charged for each rune merge. Rune Merge Interface 1★ to 4★ Prismatic Shards Prismatic Shards can only be obtained as drops from Story Mode during special Prismatic Shard events, and occasionally from event and calendar rewards. Obtaining Runes There are many ways to obtain runes. The primary source of stat runes or sacrificial runes for upgrading other runes is the Capital’s Last Stand daily event, which provides 21 runes per day on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays (at Prestige Level 0), and 7 runes per day on every other day. Running Capital’s Last Stand for the first time each day does not cost any gold and gems, only 5 energy. Every extra run, however, will cost gems at incremental costs. For players with limited gems, it is recommended to prioritize paying for extra runs only on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays since more runes drop after each run on those days. Skill runes are extremely limited, and the easiest way to obtain them is through the Skill Rune Ticket from the garrison marketplace. These tickets are paid for in gems, with the 3★ Skill Rune Ticket costing 25 gems, and 3-4★ Skill Rune ticket 30 gems. The Skill Rune Ticket is not always available at the marketplace, so be sure to check back every day after the marketplace refresh.